Edward Phillips (August 1630 – c. 1696) was an English author.

Life

He was the son of Edward Phillips of the crown office in chancery, and his wife Anne, only sister of

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and politica ...

, the poet. Edward Phillips the younger was born in

Strand, London Strand (or the Strand) is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster, Central London. It runs just over from Trafalgar Square eastwards to Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar, where the road becomes Fleet Street in the City of London, and i ...

. His father died in 1631, and Anne eventually married her husband's successor in the crown office, Thomas Agar. Edward Phillips and his younger brother,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, were educated by Milton. Edward entered

Magdalen Hall, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colle ...

, in November 1650, but left the university in 1651 to work as a bookseller's clerk in London. Although he did not share Milton's religious and political views, and seems, to judge from the free character of his ''Mysteries of Love and Eloquence'' (1658), to have undergone a certain revulsion from his

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

upbringing, he remained on affectionate terms with his uncle to the end. He was tutor to the son of

John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's diary, or m ...

, the diarist, from 1663 to 1672 at Sayes Court,

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home ...

, and in 1677–1679 in the family of Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington, a prominent Roman Catholic. The date of Phillips' death is unknown but his last book is dated 1696.

Works

His most important work is ''Theatrum poetarum'' (1675), a list of the chief poets of all ages and countries, but principally of the English poets, with short critical notes and a prefatory ''Discourse of the Poets and Poetry'', which has usually been traced to Milton's hand. He also wrote '' The New World of English Words'' (1658), which went through many editions; a new edition of ''

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Si ...

's Chronicle'', of which the section on the period from 1650 to 1658 was written by himself from the royalist standpoint; a supplement (1676) to

John Speed John Speed (1551 or 1552 – 28 July 1629) was an English cartographer, chronologer and historian of Cheshire origins.S. Bendall, 'Speed, John (1551/2–1629), historian and cartographer', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (OUP 2004/ ...

's ''Theatre of Great Britain''; and in 1684 ''Enchiridion linguae latinae'', said to have been taken chiefly from notes prepared by Milton.

John Aubrey John Aubrey (12 March 1626 – 7 June 1697) was an English antiquary, natural philosopher and writer. He is perhaps best known as the author of the '' Brief Lives'', his collection of short biographical pieces. He was a pioneer archaeologist ...

states that all Milton's papers came into Phillips's hands, and in 1694 he published a translation of his ''Letters of State'' with a valuable memoir.

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Edward English non-fiction writers 1630 births 1690s deaths Alumni of Magdalen Hall, Oxford English male non-fiction writers

Life

Works

References

Further reading

External links